[random9763]

It's totally different because it is a message syncing http+json API and totally not a messaging and presence protocol based on XML. /joke

It is interesting because Matrix has money thus full-time developers, marketing, exposure, and time to defend their work to the depth of the deepest reddit thread.

(The Element page on F-Droid reads "Element is able to do all this because it operates on Matrix - the standard for open, decentralised communication.", not presumptuous at all)

[Arathorn]

I love that all 3 of the snarky points here are illfounded :D

Yes, Matrix is a conversation history syncing protocol, and XMPP is a message-passing protocol. They genuinely are fundamentally different. It's a bit like the difference between SVG and Canvas. Sure, you can use both to draw pretty vector artwork. But one's an object graph, and the other's immediate mode.

In terms of Matrix having money: yup, it's true that folks have generously donated to Matrix over the years to keep the project afloat, and more recently Element has funnelled most of its VC funding into supporting Matrix. However, the whole "marketing, exposure and time to defend their work to the depth of the deepest reddit thread" trope is hilarious, given Matrix's marketing department is... me, the project lead? and I'm doing this in my spare time with my FOSS hat on. (technically there's benpa, our dev evangelist too, but he's ended up being hijacked by Element business this year).

Finally, "Matrix - the standard for open, decentralised communication" is like saying "Rugby - the game". It's not saying that Matrix is the one and only standard for open, decentralised communication any more than Rugby is the one and only game; it's disambiguating it from "Matrix - the mathematical construct".

Meanwhile, comically, xmpp.org declares itself "The universal messaging standard" and "XMPP is the open standard for messaging and presence".

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[jancsika]

Yes, how dare you sift through Reddit threads relevant to matrix and devote your time to give responses there!

It's like self-loathing teens reflexively making fun of an enthusiastic teacher. Except we're presumably all adults here.

[rakoo]

> However, the whole "marketing, exposure and time to defend their work to the depth of the deepest reddit thread" trope is hilarious, given Matrix's marketing department is... me, the project lead?

At this point you've probably realized that it's still immensely more than what XMPP-the-protocol has ever done: a voice that is present on all fronts to talk about it and spread the word about our Savior :)

When you want to "get into" XMPP you have to choose between NN clients, and pick a proper provider among the YY that can give you an xmpp address. When you're starting with Matrix there's a server that is "right" for beginners, with a client that is the flagship so every standard feature can be expected to be there and work, there's a company that funds its development...

You might be the only person in Matrix's marketing departement, but I guess it works this way because the way the ecosystem is today, one person is enough !

[COGlory]

Personally I hate that I can converse with the project lead directly about my thoughts and concerns for the project.